LOOKING FOR FAITH

       Faith sat on the park bench and tossed bread crumbs to the pigeons. So many people were walking around in the park and most of them admired a beautiful lady in a tank top and jeans playing with the pigeons. She had left the house since yesterday and had not checked her phone to hear what was happening, she felt a little selfish but she just needed to get her thoughts straight and come to terms with what she would do in this situation. 

      Ethan had rejected her unborn child, an innocent child and that was the same thing as rejecting her. This baby is innocent and shouldn't be punished for their sins. They were the sinners, not the baby. She didn't like where her thoughts were reeling, she tried to stop thinking about the situation but that was the only thought that occupied her mind. 

       The statement that hurt her most was him asking her if she loved him, just because she got pregnant when he had asked her not to. What was she not doing to show him that she was in love with him?  Had she not felt like dying since he refused to talk to her from San Francisco, that she couldn't even be comforted by any words? Was she not doing enough to show him that? Maybe she was not doing enough. She was going to prove it to him someday, even if they were not together anymore, she would prove to him that she had loved him more than words could ever say. 

      She wiped a lone tear and smiled as the pigeons cooed and walked around probably waiting for more bread crumbs to be tossed at them. She picked up her coat and hat and decided it was time to go back to the hotel. She needed to check her voicemail messages and most of all, she needed to call Nora and convince her not to worry about her. She would be there at her's first thing tomorrow morning and she needed to tell her not to tell Ethan about her, she was going to see him at the wedding. She wasn't going to tell Nora about her whereabouts because Ethan might blackmail Nora into telling him. 

     She stood up and walked down the park, wearing her cap to avoid recognition from anyone she knew. The hotel was a few walks away and she had just come to the park to feel human association. She had been inside her room since yesterday, although throughout the evening of yesterday, she was seated at the other side of the park, watching the ducks and pigeons and thinking about her life. When she had gone back to her hotel room, she had managed dinner and had slept off without checking her phone. Today, she had slept until mid-afternoon and had woken up, had her bath, managed lunch and headed out again to the park. At least, it had given her enough time to think on her own without anyone trying to convince her to do one thing or the other. 

      She got to her room door, unlocked the door and went inside, fell on the bed and exhaled deeply. Then she picked up her phone from the nightstand for the first time since yesterday evening and contemplated if she should call Nora first or listen to her voicemails. There were also tons of messages on her notification bar. She decided to ring Nora first. 

      Nora sat in the beautician's place, still wondering if she should go to Noah's place or not. She had not told anyone what she thought because they would try to convince her that it was too dangerous, but Faith was out there, somewhere, pregnant and defenceless. God knows if not that she had already postponed her wedding twice and Danny would not even hear of it, she would have done that. Her hair was rolled up and she sat there staring at a magazine in her hand, pretending to be reading it, but her mind was in a whirlpool. 

     Then her phone began to ring, she jumped a little and quickly dropped the magazine and picked it up. Faith flashed on the screen. She clutched her mouth. 

       "Oh, my God, Faith!" she said almost collapsing with relief. She quickly answered.   "Hello, Faith, where are you?" 

       "I'm sorry, Nora," Faith's voice sounded from the other end of the line. 

       "I know, just tell me where you are, if you are okay and I will come and get you." 

      "I am fine. But I can't tell you where I am, sorry." 

       "Ethan is very sorry and he has been out of his mind since yesterday." 

       "I don't know about that, but don't worry, I'm just here clearing my head and giving him enough time to think about what he wants to do. I will be at your place first thing tomorrow morning, I promise." 

      "Faith, you told me that it was just a thought, that's what you said to Charlie and me. Why do you have to lie about it? Look everyone is worried about you, I almost went to Noah's place!" 

        "I'm sorry. Tell everyone I'm okay, I have just been feeding the pigeons, nothing to worry about." 

        "Please be okay." 

        "See you tomorrow morning, my beautiful bride." 

         "Faith, please..." She was cut off by the click sound at the other end. She removed the phone from her ear and looked at the screen. She was relieved and sad at the same time. Relieved that Faith was fine, sad that she couldn't get to know where her dear friend was. 

       Then her phone rang again and Ethan flashed on the phone screen. She answered immediately. 

        "Hello, Nora." 

        "Hi, Ethan." 

        "Anything yet?" 

      "Er... I just got off the phone with her before your call came in." 

        "Right. Where is she? Is she alright? You know what? Don't worry, I'm coming over there, where are you?" 

       Nora opened her mouth and nothing came out at first. She couldn't tell him not to come that Faith didn't say anything and she couldn't bear to see the disappointment on his face. She just gave him the address of the beautician's place. 

     As Ethan ignited the car, someone tapped his window twice, he looked up and saw Douglas standing there. His heart dropped into his abdomen. He had expected a punch from him as he rolled down the glass, but Douglas just stood there watching him as he rolled down and he just stared at Douglas, not knowing what to say and wondering what was going to happen next. 

      "Can I come in?" Douglas asked. 

       "Sure," Ethan replied and unlocked the car. 

   Douglas went over to the passenger's seat and went into the car. 

        "I was just heading out," Ethan said the only thing that came to him at that moment. 

        "I know. Something seems to be going on, but I feel I'm being left in the dark." 

      Ethan kicked the car and it lunged forward.  He glanced at Douglas, not wanting to say anything about Faith's disappearance. Although he felt that was the reason he was there, he didn't want to go ahead of him. He was going to play cool until maybe Douglas asks of Faith. How was he going to explain it to this overprotective brother of hers that the union he had just approved some days ago was going down the drain because he had gotten mad that she took in? Why had he not thought about all these people before he decided to give Faith the cold shoulders? Just how much damage has he caused? 

        "Where is Angel?" 

        "She is pregnant," Ethan blurted. 

       Noah looked at his well-ironed suit and white shirt and smiled to himself, the smile turned into a chuckle and the chuckle turned into a burst of hearty laughter. He laughed long and hard and then went into the bathroom to shave off his shabby looking beards. He had not shaved for a long time now and he was looking like a jungle man. He stared at himself in the mirror. 

       Since they have decided to take him out of business, he had decided to make them his business. He knew something was wrong with those two love birds, Ethan and Faith. 

        "Trouble in paradise already?" he asked himself and guffawed applying the shaving cream around his face. 

        He didn't know what was causing their fight, but he knew where she was and he could just go to that hotel room and take her away with him. Far, far away. He stopped for a moment and pondered it, tilting his head up. Could that be the easiest way to achieve what he wanted? He could take her away and make rounds of sweet, sweet love to her before he would think of what else to do. 

     For a while, the thought lingered in his head and he shaved, reminiscing their lovemaking, reminiscing how she moans, how she begs him not to stop, how she digs her fingers into his flesh, how her eyes roll up and how she gasps when he brings her to satisfaction. She had f*cking loved him. As he thought about those things he had done to her, his anger seethed to an uncontrollable point and he grunted furiously and punched the mirror in front of him, the mirror cracked into webs. 

     He quickly went into the bedroom and took out his re volver from the chest, took the metal tube and fixed on its mouth, and corked the gun.